If you download and use mobile apps, you’ve definitely seen these messages. Push notifications are instant alerts that show up in real time on a user’s mobile device to communicate a small message. You know those pop-ups that show a red number next to your mobile apps? Yup, those are push notifications! These notifications are being used by a large variety of businesses to improve customer communication with great success.

According to global-marketing company Responsys, surveyed 1,200 adults and discovered that six out of 10 adults have downloaded apps from their preferred brands. Of those, seven in 10 have enabled push notifications for those apps. When a younger set of people were surveyed, those percentages grew.

According to the survey, users enabled push notifications for the following reasons:

– 50% for getting access to special or exclusive offers,– 44% to keep track of orders– 38% to review and manage accounts– 36% to access brands on the go– 34% to receive notifications in real time about sales and availability– 31% to look up inventory– 29% to stay up to date with products and services– 28% to receive location based notifications– 25% to better their website experience

In-app notifications are being used a great deal, with 68% having enabled notifications for their apps, and 76% of the younger age range (18-34) having done so. The survey showed that 70% of consumers surveyed said that in-app push notifications were valuable to them, 43% of consumers said they were more likely to use a mobile app when push notifications were available.

The statistics don’t lie. Push notifications are a huge part of apps and mobile marketing now, and businesses should take note. This means huge return on investment for small businesses!